Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Agriculture and land
    Agriculture and land Building stronger and more sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land care.
    • Animal health
    • Climate change and agriculture
    • Drought, disaster and rural support
    • Farming, food and drought
    • Fisheries
    • Forestry
    • Levies and charges on agricultural products
    • Mouse infestation advice
    • Plant health
    Xylella

    Protect against unwanted plant pests

    Our biosecurity system helps protects us. Everyone has a role in supporting our biosecurity system.

    Find out more

  • Biosecurity and trade
    Biosecurity and trade
    • Aircraft, vessels and military
    • Biosecurity policy
    • Cats and dogs
    • Exporting
    • Importing
    • Pests, diseases and weeds
    • Public awareness and education
    • Trade and market access
    • Travelling or sending goods to Australia
    • Report a concern
    Brown marmorated stink bug

    BMSB Seasonal Measures

    Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB.

    View our seasonal measures

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
    • Plant Innovation Centre
    Abares

    ABARES Insights

    Get 'snapshots’ of agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries, or analysis of key issues.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We enhance our agricultural industries and trade, and manage the threat of biosecurity risks to Australia.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Contact us
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • Payments
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Budget 2025-26

    Budget 2025-26

    The 2025–26 Portfolio Budget Statements were released on 25 March 2025.

    Find out more

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Biosecurity and trade
  3. Export
  4. Controlled export goods
  5. Exporting meat and meat products
  6. ELMER 3 - Electronic legislation, manuals and essential references
  7. Meat notices
  8. 2020
  9. Meat Notice 2020-05

Sidebar first - Export

  • Meat notices
    • 2025
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020

Meat Notice 2020-05 – Cysticercus ovis disposition - Alignment with Australian Standard 4696:2007

24 September 2020

Download

Document Pages File size
Meat Notice 2020-05 - Cysticercus ovis disposition - Alignment with Australian Standard 4696:2007 PDF Icon 3 226 KB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Online version

NSFS reference: 16

Issue date: 24 September 2020

Date of effect: Immediate

Review date: September 2022

Contact officers:

Jason Ollington
National Veterinary Technical Manger
Export Meat Program
03 8308 5029

Ed Dunn
Field Operations Manager
Export Meat Program
08 8201 6110

Purpose

This notice provides export registered establishments with revised requirements for:

  • Identification, segregation and processing of sheep, lamb and goat carcases affected by Cysticercus ovis (C. ovis) to align the disposition of C. ovis affected carcases and viscera at export establishments with the dispositions requirements of the Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption 4696:2007.
  • This notice supersedes Meat Notice 2007/16.

Scope

This notice applies to all export meat establishments slaughtering sheep, lambs and goats.

C. ovis affected carcases and offal of sheep, lambs and goats have historically been managed at post mortem inspection and subsequent processing by:

  • Condemning C. ovis affected viscera.
  • Examining the carcase, tallying the number of C. ovis cysts in musculature.
  • Condemning carcases with more than five C. ovis cysts found in musculature.
  • Passing for human consumption, carcases with five or less C. ovis cysts found and removed from musculature, conditional upon boning.
  • Identifying and segregating such carcases to ensure they are boned and only exported in the boneless or manufactured form.

Definitions

The following table defines terms used in this notice.

Term Definition
Cysticercus ovis The intermediate or ‘larval cystic’ stage of the parasite Taenia ovis, a common tapeworm of dogs and wild canine species (primary hosts) with sheep and goats being the intermediate hosts. C.ovis is not transmissible to humans.
C.ovis cysts Can appear as active clear fluid-filled cysts or degenerated firm nodules with scar/calcified tissue. Usually found in the heart, diaphragm, oesophagus, tongue, head muscles and/or in the carcase.

Responsibilities

Establishment management:

  1. may amend their approved arrangement to remove the requirement for carcases identified at post mortem inspection with five or less cysts of C. ovis in musculature to be processed only as boneless meat
  2. must submit consequent approved arrangement amendments to their Area Technical Manager for approval

Departmental on-plant officers will:

  1. provide establishment management with a copy of this meat notice as soon as possible
  2. verify the establishment responsibilities and actions of this meat notice (as relevant) have been included in the occupier’s arrangement
  3. verify that post mortem dispositions applied to C. ovis affected carcases and carcase parts are applied in accordance with this notice and such carcases are handled in accordance with the establishment’s approved arrangement.

Area technical managers will:

  1. review the occupier’s arrangement
  2. approve or not approve the arrangement as per their findings
  3. verify through audits the occupier compliance/non-compliance with relevant export legislation, importing country requirements and Australian standards.

Requirements

When, through routine post mortem inspection, the presence of a C. ovis cyst is detected in the viscera or a carcase, the carcase must have a more detailed inspection for the presence of C. ovis cysts. This detailed inspection must consist of a careful palpation of the muscles of the diaphragm together with visual examination and deep palpation of the muscles exposed during regular dressing (the ventral muscles of the neck and brisket and the medial muscles of the leg etc.).

The Australian Standard requires carcases with a general infestation (more than five cysts found in musculature) to be condemned along with all its carcase parts.

For carcases with a light infestation (five or less cysts found in the skeletal musculature), cysts and surrounding tissue is to be trimmed from the carcase and condemned, with affected viscera also condemned. After removal of the cysts from the carcase, the carcase is passed for human consumption without restriction.

There is no requirement to bone C. ovis affected carcases with five or less cysts identified in the musculature.

This meat notice does not preclude any current procedure that an establishment may have to identify and handle such carcases. Rather, it removes the export requirement to identify, segregate and bone carcases to ensure meat from these carcases is only exported as boneless meat.

Jason Lucas
Director Export Meat Program
24 September 2020

General enquiries

Call 1800 900 090

Contact us online

Report a biosecurity concern

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip
Page last updated: 24 September 2020

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
© Amy Allerton, contemporary Aboriginal Artist of the Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Gamilaroi nations.

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI

© Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram